"I am terribly aware of it and painfully aware of it," said Angelou. "I have family in Europe, in Africa. And they have phoned me, in tears, trying to find am I alright, am I alive. It's been a burden."

A celebrity website set off a twitter blitz when it reported this weekend Angelou was in the hospital. The website later retracted the story after contacting an Angelou representative.

The 81-year-old Angelou wrote the autobiographical "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie."